The Meaning Of - Salt Skin Drafts
by iulli17
Summary: A series of one-shots revolving around 2D and Noodle and the growth of their relationship between phases 2 and 3. Would-be continuations to my discontinued story Salt Skin. Friendship/Eventual Pairing.
1. 01

**A/N: This is the first of a handful of one-shots I plan to publish over the next several weeks. For those who aren't aware, these one-shots coincide with a previous story of mine titled _Salt Skin_. I discontinued the main story, but still wanted to share some of the drafts I had in progress that would later become chapters. Please keep in mind that these one-shots were written between 2012-2013 and may not be up to date with my current writing style. There might be a couple mistakes here and there; try to look past them. These were merely rough drafts to ideas I had years back.**

**Instead of dating the chapters like I did in the original story, I'll simply list which phase each one-shot takes place in. Try to think of it as a direct continuation from the time listed in Ch. 07 of _Salt Skin_...which was late 2004. The drafts will progress into later years as the time frame shifts from Phases 2 to 3.**

**Thank you to all of you who expressed interest in reading these. It means the world to me. Enjoy!**

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><p>- 01 -<p>

[Phase 2]

"2D, hold this would you?"

Noodle was sitting on the floor of Kong's living room when she handed 2D, who was carrying luggage, a paper object.

"Sure… what is it?" He plopped down the belongings in his arms to the floor.

"Paper crane. Oragami! A traditional pastime in Japan."

"Oh, right. …..Did it come like this?"

"No. You have to make it."

"….How?"

"If you two are done bloody messing around in there, we've got a flight to catch!" Murdoc's voice was heard from the other room.

"I'll show you if you want." Noodle disregarded Murdoc's orders, smiling up at the vocalist.

2D nodded; taking Noodle's lead and ignoring the bassist.

"Here…" Noodle pulled two pieces of paper out from a pile lying on the floor beside her. She handed one to him and kept one for herself. "Ready? First you fold the paper this way….and then this way…."

"Are you even listening?!" Murdoc squawked from the other room again.

"Like this?" 2D held out the paper to receive critique.

Noodle chuckled. "2D, that's….not quite right. Here, try it this way."

"HELLO?!" Murdoc's tone of voice was red hot.

They continued to ignore him as 2D followed Noodle's instructions carefully. After a minute or so, he grinned widely and held it up. "I did it!"

Noodle beamed. "That's a good one! Now just blow into the bottom of it and it'll be perfect!"

Stu did as he was told and blew air into the small hole in the bottom of the crane. Soon, it plumped up into a life-like creature. "That's brilliant! What do I do with it now? Does it fly?"

Noodle gathered the other cranes she had made and put them into a box carefully. "Keep it if you'd like. I have plenty of them already…. I'm going to hand them out to our cohorts in the states."

"Really? What for?"

"I don't know…just for fun I suppose."

"Oh for the love of Satan! Are you _children_ deaf or something? HURRY IT UP!...Right gits, the both of you." Murdoc finally poked his head into the room, snarling and then rushing downstairs.

"Ayyaah, _Fine_." Noodle sighed and picked up her box. Before she could leave the room to grab her suitcase, she felt something hit the back of her head lightly. She reached behind her and pulled out of her hair a paper airplane.

She turned around to find 2D still sitting on the floor smiling. "That's about all I can make."

Noodle grinned back. "We better get going….Murdoc may implode."

"He can sod off." 2D grabbed another piece of paper and outstretched it towards her.

She took a look around and then returned to her seat on the floor. "I don't think I've ever made a plane before. Will you show me?"

"Yeah! So yeh take the paper, right? And then yeh-"

"—GIVE ME THAT!" Murdoc suddenly appeared above them and grabbed the piece of paper out of 2D's hands.

"Ouch! Yeh just gave me a paper cut!"

Murdoc scowled with rage. "Get. Your fucking arses. DOWNSTAIRS."

"Perhaps if you said it more politely." Noodle retorted.

"Don't give me that gracious rubbish. Our flight leaves in 2 hours and we have to beat traffic. Russ has been ready for hours and what have you two been doing? Mucking about with fucking paper!"

"She's right, yeh know. Yeh could be a little nicer about it." 2D held onto his finger to stop the slight bleeding.

Murdoc grabbed the collar of the singer's shirt and raised him up to his feet. "Don't get in on it too, dullard. I've had a long fucking morning." He then threw 2D back down on the floor with a loud thud and proceeded to exit the room. "If you two aren't ready in 5 minutes we're happily leaving without you."

Noodle glared at the bassist as he left, then focused her attention on 2D. He sat idle on the floor with a discouraged look on his face, rubbing his backside and lifting his finger to observe the small cut. He looked like a whipped dog, unable to fight back, unsure why he deserved such treatment.

She knelt beside him. "Are you okay?"

He bit his bottom lip, then slapped on a short grin. "Sure."

"Let me see…" Noodle reached for his bloody finger. She frowned, although it was a minimal cut. What upset her more was the endless torment Stuart Pot endured during his time with Gorillaz. Not only was it unfair, but it was angering. If he tried to stand up for himself, he received a worse beating. Sometimes Noodle hated Murdoc more than she realized.

Knowing there wasn't enough time to grab a bandage, Noods gripped a small section of her shirt, ripped it, and began tying it around 2D's finger. "Is that better?"

2D looked perplexed. "Yeah… but what about yeh shirt?"

"It's no big deal."

She then stood up and offered a hand down to him. He grabbed it and she hoisted him to his feet.

As they collected their belongings and headed for the elevator, 2D glanced down at the guitarist and nudged her shoulder. "…Thanks, blud."

She smiled.

_There's only one person in this entire world that could make me feel like I'm worth a damn. And that person is standing beside me._

_I won't hold your hand, no, I won't even try._

_You're the fragile thing that I could never taint or tarnish._

_You're the person I find most important…_

_You are my family, my friend._

_The individual I want to share everything with._

_I don't want to let you go…even though we are not embracing. I don't want to let you go._

_x_


	2. 02

-02-

[Phase 2]

_I don't want to know what it would be like, not knowing you._

Noodle sat outside 2D's hotel room. It was late. She couldn't sleep. She had knocked. No one had answered.

The eve of her 15th birthday was a menacing and tiring one. Earlier that day, the band (plus cohorts,) had arrived in Manchester, England to prepare for the first Demon Days Live show on November 1st. It was a stressful time for everyone…concert run-throughs had been preformed all afternoon into the late evening. It was nearly midnight by the time most of the collection of artists made their way to their hotels. Others stayed out to beige the night away on alcohol, celebrating the upcoming event….this meant Murdoc, of course, and a strewn assortment of cliques.

Noodle cared very little about celebrating. She was exhausted; run down. She felt as though she had been the only one who took the Demon Days album and tour seriously. So much had happened that year, so much strife and eerie commerce. So many unexplained incidents, long miles, and crowded rehearsal halls where tons of people gathered and yet she was the only one practicing.

Murdoc had taken his drunken behavior to an all-time extreme. Russel had become distant, lost in his own mind. And even 2D seemed to stray, losing sight of what mattered: Sticking together. Gorillaz felt hallow and unhealthy; struck by fame. She had to be the one to hold the 3 men upright…mending every seam that came unstitched. But there were so many seams that were loose now that it nearly took the life out of her to continue sewing. She was only a preteen through the lot of this… and for a 14 year old to hold so much responsibility was beginning to become a burden on her rather than an exciting privilege.

Refuge was all that she sought at this dark hour. At the strike of 12, Halloween would initiate…her 15th year along with it. She didn't feel any older; just tired, craving a life far from this one…far from the obligations and stress.

She sighed. It had been 10 minutes. 2D still hadn't opened the door. He couldn't have been asleep already: He was outwardly nocturnal, staying up late almost every night.

Perhaps he had gone out? But he wasn't one to party, so he couldn't have been with Muds and the other hooligans. There had been times when he had surprised her and the others by showing up to a few parties, but it seemed he only made himself present when she had been there as well. She suspected it was his way of keeping her company while the others drank themselves into retardation and gave lap dances to empty chairs.

2D and Noodle had grown close to one another over the past few years. Murdoc brushed it off as adolescent foolery. Russ saw it as a brother/sister attachment. 2D saw it as an unexplained close friendship. Perhaps it was a silly sibling bond between them, but there were times when Noodle paused to reminisce on their times together and she would start to feel something envelop and comfort her. She enjoyed his company to the extent that he had become her retreat from the world. They had been inseparable for the duration of the band's existence… Through every nightmare she experienced when she was younger, he had been there to console her and offer her company. Through every headache he endured, she had been there with a bottled water and prescription of pain killers to soften the blow.

They shared everything.

While traveling, cohorts would find them seated side by side; both dozed off leaning against one another.

At Kong, they would often be found having zombie wars in the hallways or watching horror films, devouring sour candies until they were both sick and their tongues were green.

They would sneak out of the tour bus over the summer to order fast food from the nearest burger joint and eat it secretly in the back of the bus. If Murdoc found them, he would cuss them out for stinking up the quarters with their burping games and not letting him have a bite of their meals.

When it rained, Noodle would quietly stand outside with 2D while he had a smoke, both staring like buffoons out at the drenched world until they were soaking wet themselves. They stayed up late together many a night, prominently during storm season at Kong, writing music and having long conversations about anything and everything. Noodle would strum one of her guitars and 2D would serenade their make-shift lyrics until someone yelled at them to shut up.

They were best friends. And how they got that way was a mystery.

2D was much older than the vivacious Japanese girl. They both understood and respected their age difference, and when it came rightfully time to consider the fact that it looked strange to others that they were hanging out, 2D would simply spare a toothy grin and throw a strangle-hold around Noodle's neck…declaring: "Noods is me blud, she is!"

Noodle knew this was true. She knew everyone else knew it was true too.

There was nothing more about it than that.

And that was why it was okay...

It was okay to knock on his door if she couldn't sleep –

It was okay to rest her head on his shoulder if she was tired –

It was okay to share her fears and inspirations with him if she pleased –

It was okay!

But here she was at his door at 11:20 p.m., and for some strange reason, it felt wrong to be there.

Why?

She was about to gather herself up off the floor and meekly walk back to her own room when she heard voices coming from the lift down the hall. She momentarily panicked, not particularly wanting anyone to see her in the XL t-shirt that fell off one shoulder or knee-high socks she was wearing for pajamas. She darted the opposite direction and hid behind a corner where the hallway turned down another wing.

She peeked behind the wall.

Coming down the corridor towards room 372 was 2D, accompanied by a young woman—possibly a groupie…blonde, fair-sized chest, plump lips, hour glass figure, dressed in a slinky dress. From the look of things, 2D was a bit tipsy, and the girl was helping him get to his room.

"Here we are, darlin…Room threeeeeee seven two. Tha's me, righ'. You-you know wot?…Three times seven, it's 21, yeah? Addin the two, tha's 23! It...it's insane, the coincidence!"

Noodle grimaced. 2D was wasted. How or why, she didn't know. He stayed away from drinking usually; it was a bad habit that Muds showed the consequences of daily. 2D would have a sip or two on occasion, but it was rare. Was the Manchester show one of those occasions?

Now all Noodle wanted was to get to her room and try going back to sleep. She worried for the singer, but knew it would be best to keep her distance. Last time she encountered him drunk, he talked her up a storm for hours in a bathroom stall before getting incredibly ill and then passing out with his face pressed against the toilet seat. She had to clean him up and drag his weary body out of the women's bathroom and to a carpeted area in the hotel lobby where they were staying. She then had to strew blankets over him and convince the passer-bys that they were locked out of their room. She had to do a signing the next morning and did so without getting any sleep.

As much as she wanted to make sure he was alright this time around, she valued getting some rest before the long day of rehearsals commenced.

Unfortunately for her, her room was on the other end of the wing. She had to get past 2D and the girl to reach it. She would have to wait until they parted ways.

"23? That's like, your band's favorite number or something, right? Tell me more?…" The blonde cooed, reaching for 2D's limp arm and pressing it against her cleavage.

2D flushed, "Course, love! 23 is the number of coincidence and er…chance! Yeh know? Like complete perdictuality, yeah? Like…like two…and then…..three. Put together!"

"Really? Wow, that's so interesting!"

Noodle rolled her eyes, growing tired of 2D's slurred conversation and the blonde so fascinated by it. She was definitely a groupie, no doubt trying to win a night with the lead singer of Gorillaz. 2D may have been drunk, but he wasn't stupid. Murdoc might let any fowl bird swoop in and out of his room, but 2D had his head on straight. He wasn't about to fall for her little innuendos.

"You know…I'd love to hear more about all this in your room?" The blonde spoke in a seductive manner, inching closer to 2D, her hands on his chest now.

He stared blankly back at her.

This was it, Noodle thought. Some sense had come to him and he was about to send her on her way. Nice try, _darlin'_. Score for Gorillaz = 1, Groupies = 0.

"…So…what do you say?" She peered up at him with dark brown eyes, still waiting for an answer.

Right as Noodle expected him to dismiss her, his blank expression turned into a clumsy grin. "Sure, why not? I'll take yeh bag there, love. Come on INNN to me abode. It's temporary, yeh know."

The guitarist's mouth dropped. What? But why? The girl was just a ditzy groupie wanting a one night stand! Surely 2D realized this?

The look on his face was clear from where Noodle hid. He looked pleased with himself, assured and confident. He seemed to have suaveness about him, as if this blonde was just what he was after; as if he had purposely lured her there!

It took the sight of 2D running into the side of the door to denote Noodle's assumptions. He was obviously heavily sedated from beverage; he probably didn't even know what was happening. But still, things seemed strange. Had the blonde struck the right cord with him and he was taking advantage of the opportunity?

Noodle watched as they both disappeared into his room, shutting the door behind them. Right as they went out of sight, Noodle caught a glimpse of 2D stringing his arm around the girl.

She waited a few seconds before re-entering the hallway. She walked timidly, almost tip-toeing. When she reached 2D's door, she noticed that they had left it ajar. She stared up at the golden 372 plate on the entrance. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes, remembering that she and 2D had discovered the 23 symbolism when they had checked in earlier.

She felt suddenly sick to her stomach and was about to power-walk back to her room when she heard them.

Some murmuring…a few moans…

Noodle stared at the crack in the door. It was taunting her.

She blushed. She shouldn't be there. 2D was with a woman! They were in his room, expecting to be alone. If they found her out there, she'd be completely humiliated…What could she possibly say if they questioned her, when she knew all too well what they were up to?

She heard a few more noises: some rustling of sheets.

She breathed in sharply; looking down at her socks, then back up at the damn cracked door.

She swallowed hard, reaching for the doorknob. She didn't know why she couldn't stop herself. When her fingers touched the cold steel, she knew she was crossing a foreign border. There was no turning back.

She pushed the door open slightly, just enough to peek in. The lamps from the hallway illuminated a strip of light through the darkness. It led to a white-sheeted bed where two forms were entangled with one another.

What Noodle saw made the pit of her gut drop. The girl was on top of 2D, beneath the blankets. She was moving around, tossing slurred remarks to him. He mumbled back.

She tried not to gasp when she saw the girls bra snap off. Noodle backed away from the door quickly, eyes wide. Why had she looked? Why!

"Hey, did you hear something?" She heard the voice of the girl from inside.

She began to panic, jumping one way and then the other. She finally got a hold of herself enough to dash back to her room 7 doors down.

2D stammered to the door and glanced out into the hall. He looked back at the girl in his bed. "No one out here, maaaam."

"Oh good." The blonde's breasts bounced as she sat topless on the bed. She giggled as she spoke. "Shall we continue, _Stuart_?"

2D looked up at her, stumbling a bit. "You-you said ma' real name? Who are you to know that?"

The blonde smirked. "Well I'm your biggest fan, silly! Of course I would know your real name. And such a handsome name, at that. You should really use it more often…it's a shame. '2D' is pretty lame."

The blue-haired vocalist suddenly felt a surge of nausea waft over him. He placed a hand over his forehead. Bits and pieces of the night were coming together, as well as a nasty headache. He recalled the girl as being a crazed fan who showed up at the pre-party before Murdoc left with his crew to get plastered at another shindig. 2D had been at the bar ordering a small mixed drink when the girl arrived and coaxed him into taking back a few more gallons of cocktail than he had intended. After that, the rest went blank until he heard the name 'Stuart' spoken in the groupie's unfamiliar voice.

"My nickname's not lame…its ace! Me best mates gave it to me. An' only me best mates can call me Stu…Stuart…. Listen- I-I think it's rightfully best if yeh go."

The blonde frowned. "But why? We were having so much fun."

"Yeh shouldn't be here…Wot if someone was to walk in all sudden like and get the wrong idea?…Wait, how did yeh get in here anyway?"

"You invited me in. And if someone walked in, wouldn't you tell them you had a special guest and kick them out?" The girl retorted.

2D flicked on the lights. "I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to come about. I'm not feelin' too well. You should put yeh knickers back on and get goin'."

The blonde stood up now, still topless. "I can help you, are you feeling sick from the drinks?"

2D was rubbing his temples now. "Yeah…and I wouldn't be if yeh hadn't kept forcin' em down me throat."

"Oh come on, lighten up. I was just trying to get you to relax and have a good time."

2D sighed. "I'm gettin' a headache. Just go."

The groupie wore a furious expression now. "I'm not leaving! I flew all the way from Utah! You said I could come in! What's wrong with you?!"

"Put yeh bra on and go!"

"NO!"

2D lost patience.

"HEeeeY!" The blonde yelled as she was led out into the hallway, her clothes along with her.

She spun around, "_FINE_! HAVE BLUE-BALLS THEN, THEY'LL MATCH YOUR HAIR!"

2D shut the door, blocking out her angry screaming. He hoped that no one would hear her fuss.

His head was now throbbing. He began to dig through his luggage in search of his medication.

Unable to find it and feeling dizzier, he grabbed his cell phone and lay down on his messed up bed.

He held his hallow eyes shut for a moment, then looked at his phone, entered the inbox, selected 'New Message,' and began pounding in letters.

A few rooms down the hallway, Noodle sat on the floor beside her bed. The lights were off. The dark didn't bother her. She had been sitting there for almost 15 minutes, holding her legs up to her chest and resting her forehead on her knees.

The vision of that girl and 2D played over and over in her mind. She felt blank…A new, indescribable feeling was swelling up inside her. She sat there trying to understand it.

Why did this bother her so much? Was it merely the fact that she preferred not to see her male comrades performing sexual acts? She was, after all, a teenager who saw each of her band mates as either brother or father figures...and what young girl wants to walk in on her brother or father in such a situation?

Or was this bothering her because of something else…Something far more forbidden?

She always knew that there would come a time when the line had to be drawn. She was 14! And the rest of her band was well into their 20's and beyond. She had told herself many times that eventually one of them or all would be with different women and she would just have to respect their privacy. She never once gave thought to the fact that it might bother her. In fact, it never occurred to her at all.

She was fully aware that 2D had been with girls before. Many girls. He had been in relationships long before she even knew the meaning of the word.

So why was this any different? Why did she feel this way if she had already accepted and expected it from the start?

Stuart Pot was a grown man. And she wasn't even old enough to have a driver's license.

She shouldn't be feeling this way.

She shouldn't be…

Jealou-

Suddenly, her cell phone began vibrating on the night stand, startling her.

She reached for it and held it in her hands, staring at the bright screen. A little pixilated creature danced around beneath a cartoon envelope. It read, "1 New Message."

She clicked on it.

[2-D; 00:11:55] hey noods u awake? sry luv do u have my pills with u?

The screen pierced her eyes like a perky dagger. Her pupils began to take on strain.

He must have finally come out of his drunken state.

The little curser below his text message taunted her. It was waiting for a reply. But what was there to say?

She figured the best thing to do would be to act as normal as possible.

[N00dle; 00:11:57] yes, I have them. Should I bring them by your room?

She decided that replying the way she did was as good of way as any to find out if that girl was still there with him.

She waited… A response came a minute later.

[2-D; 00:11:58] U don't mind? I'm sry!

She felt relieved at this. She stood up from her spot on the floor and turned on the lamp to search for the pills. They were, for some reason, in her coat pocket hanging on the back of a chair. Why had he left them there? She couldn't remember taking them from him.

She opened her door to the hallway and peeked out. The passage was silent, but brightly lit. She quietly walked across the tacky carpet to 2D's door.

Before knocking, she sighed and stared at her feet. She felt embarrassed for having seen what she had earlier. She still felt like she shouldn't be there…as if it wasn't her place to be standing at his door, even though he had asked her to come.

She lifted the bottle of pain pills and studied the label.

All of a sudden, a chiming was heard from the lift corridor. It was a clock, signaling midnight.

October 31st, 2005.

Her Birthday.

She knocked on the door.

No more than a second passed before it swung open and a giant stuffed Totoro doll stared back at her. " 'APPY BIRTHDAY!"

She jumped back. "WAH!..."

The vocalist peered out from behind the Totoro and smiled wearily. "Sorry it's not somethin' better, but I seen this at a mall a few weeks ago and knew yeh liked your Studio Ghibles…er…what's it called?"

Noodle blinked up at him through her bangs, still stunned.

He looked down at her after staring at the ceiling for a moment trying to think. "Noods?"

She looked down and rubbed one of her eyes, then lifted her gaze back to him, smiling. "Studio Ghibli."

2D held a worried look for a moment, then grinned back. "Yeah, tha's it!"

She took the Totoro doll in her arms and nuzzled into it, peering out from the top of it into 2D's dark room behind him. The surprise that had shut out the unpleasant feelings she was harboring came flooding back.

He glanced back into the room himself, then back at her. "You ok, blud?"

Noodle held the Totoro tightly and felt something inside her serge. For a moment; one brief, irrelevant moment, she wished it was him in her arms, rather than the stuffed animal.

Her cheeks suddenly turned red. What kind of a thought was that? It was 2D, her friend! Her bandmate!

Nothing more…

It would always be nothing more.

He noticed her strange behavior and the perplexed look on her face, but wasn't sure how to react. Perhaps she was tired?

Noodle stood aloof for a second before remembering his bottle of pills which were laying on the floor now. She set the Totoro down and picked up the bottle, handing it to him. "Almost forgot, did you still need these?"

2D was reminded of his earlier request and took the container. "I forgot also. Guess my headache went away."

Noodle looked up at him. "Already?"

2D smiled and placed a hand on her head. "Yeah. Thanks, love."

Noodle averted her eyes. "For what? I should be thanking you for the birthday gift."

2D shrugged. "Not sure, jus' felt like thankin' yeh."

The feelings Noodle had been having for the past hour were so strange to her. First, such jealously and ache. And now a great waft of consolation and warmth. She couldn't make sense of it, but whatever these unfamiliar emotions were, they made her feel different inside. They made her feel alive.

x


	3. 03

**A/N: Hey guys! Late update because the server was down for a couple days. Don't worry, I didn't forget! **

**I'd like to note that the plot for this draft is a hellishly rough one. Before anyone continues reading, I owe a bit of an explanation for it. This was intended to be a Salt Skin chapter involving a young man Noodle meets in the U.S. during Gorillaz' Demon Days tour, who she awkwardly tries to date for a couple weeks. At first he shows genuine interest in her, which she isn't sure how to react to. She's never liked or dated anyone up until this point and the idea of having a boyfriend intrigues her. However, it's later discovered that the kid is only trying to get into her pants. 2D picks up on this and comes to Noodle's aid. **

**I could have easily overlooked this draft; it's short and doesn't do the initial idea justice. But I selfishly enjoy the thought of 2D saving Noodle from a creep, so I wanted to share my rendition of said rescue with all of you anyway.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>-03-<p>

[Phase 2]

He looked up, blood dripping from his nose, smiling at her.

She locked her knees in order to stay standing.

"Yeh ok?" His voice was lucid.

She nodded, standing very still as she watched him reach for his jacket lying on the wet city pavement.

Unmindful of his messy features, he walked towards her and draped the jacket across her shoulders.

"'Ere yeh go, mate. Its 'bit chilly out 'ere." He grinned, paying no heed to the events that had just transpired.

Noodle glanced down at the leather material across her bare shoulders. She felt ridiculous and unlike herself, having been wearing the cocktail dress the entire night.

2D studied her expression for a moment, waiting for a response. When he didn't receive one, he turned his head and began speaking. "Noods…I'm sorry. I should'a-...I definitely should'a been 'ere sooner…"

"2D." Her voice cut off his stuttered apology. She couldn't quite make out what he was trying to say anyway. "You have a bloody nose."

2D touched his snout and brought his fingers back to his eyes to witness the deep red color drowning in his nail beds.

Noodle knelt down and unbuttoned the handbag she had been carrying and pulled out a few folded tissues. She then stood on her tiptoes to hold them over 2D's spouting nostrils.

He teetered a bit, allowing her to tend to him as she seemed to always do when he had an ailment.

In time, it grew apparent that Noodle didn't want to hear an apology. Not from him, not from anyone.

The American boy's importance to her had ceased from the moment he socked 2D in the face.

It was short lived; Noodle's U.S. fling.

As they walked back to the hotel, 2D's nose now stuffed with tissues, Noodle hugged his jacket around her chest and wondered why she had been smitten by the boy in the first place.

There was no hidden grandeur in having a boyfriend, so why had she pursued it?

"'D? Noods?! What the hell happened?" Russel had been waiting outside the lobby on the street curb. He dropped the pizza slice he'd been working on and rushed over to them.

Noodle lowered her head, embarrassed to say that she'd been dumped.

2D noticed her drawn behavior and quickly responded to the big man's concern. "It…It was ridiculous, Russel! Yeh see…Noods 'ere decided she didn't want to see the bloke anymore, but he wouldn't take no for an answer! I tried to reason with 'im, an' he planted me one."

"Say what? Ah you've gotta be kiddin' me….That kid was a suck-up from the moment I met him. Way too nice. Can't trust too nice'a fellows….they'll come back and bite yah."

2D stood aloof for a moment and then nodded, pretending to know what Russ meant.

The drummer glanced down at Noodle and placed a large hand on her shoulder. "Babe why yah look so down? Thought 'D said yah'll dumped his ass, not the other way around?"

Noodle pressed her lips together firmly as she looked up into her band mate's face. "I suppose it's sad, either way."

The big man grinned warmheartedly. "You bet."

Noodle began to walk past them to go inside. She wanted to flee from their prying eyes so she could release some of her looming consternation. Before she managed to escape however, she noticed a bit of 2D's blood on the top of her left hand, which had dried there from earlier.

She looked back over her shoulder. Stu was further elaborating the story to Russel, who undoubtedly believed every word of it.

She waited until there was a moment to speak up. "Ano….Thank you, 2D."

They both turned to look at her. Before long, 2D drew out a grin.

It was no big deal, really.

x


	4. 04

**A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! Surprise ~ We're moving into Phase 3 this week. But first, here's a quick overview of what I'd planned on covering during the rest of Phase 2 and the shift into Phase 3:**

**2D and Noodle grow closer in their friendship and Noodle begins to wonder why she feels so at ease when they're together. 2D has similar thoughts. Noodle begins to grow weary of Murdoc's judgments with the progression of Demon Days and they end up butting heads on a regular basis. Murdoc finally confides in Noodle that he's gotten into some trouble and needs her to go through with a risky music video shoot for **_**El Manana**_** in order to financially save Gorillaz' hide. She ends up agreeing to do the shoot, despite the dangers involved. However, she vanishes without a trace during filming. Murdoc is suspected for her disappearance, but he pledges that he has nothing to do with it. 2D is the last person that Noodle speaks to before she boards the Windmill. He expresses his concern over the situation, but she assures him that everything will be fine. After she goes missing, 2D blames himself for not stopping her from doing the music video. When weeks turn into months without word, he begins to lose himself in alcohol and pain pills, dropping contact with Murdoc and Russel all together until Murdoc steals him away to record tracks for Plastic Beach a few years later. ****Murdoc borrows some of 2D's lyric sheets for material to use on the new demos without his knowledge. 2D is then forced to sing the music he had conjured so long ago for a sleeping Noodle, which evolves into **_**On Melancholy Hill**_**. 2D misses Noodle and keeps her Tamagotchi pet alive, for some odd reason. He feels like if he keeps the virtual pet alive, it will keep Noodle's memory alive as well. Meanwhile, Noodle has been in hell for the past few years, held against her will by a strange force. She eventually escapes (visions and loud thumping led her out) and she winds up on an ocean shore where she's able to find refuge and recollect herself. Listening to a resident radio station changes her demeanor entirely. The reason she has fought so hard to get back, the reason she needs to keep endeavoring on—Music, what had happened to the music? The modern music was sickening and bland, mainstream tar that was rotting the minds of the youth. Where was the musical sense? Her mission has not yet been fulfilled and how foolish she was for nearly forgetting about it. What had happened to Gorillaz? She needs to find her band. She decides to begin her journey to find 2D, Murdoc, and Russel. She meets up with Russ not long after and the two of them come across Plastic Beach while it's under attack. Noodle saves 2D and Murdoc both from the chaos, destroys a cyborg that looks suspiciously like her, and gets shot in the chest in the process, causing her to pass out.**

**And this, my friends, is where the following draft picks up. I apologize for the lengthy author's note, but I wanted to at least give you an idea of where I wanted to take the story before the next set of drafts take place. Hopefully now you have a semi-clear notion.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>-04-<p>

[Phase 3]

When she woke up, the room was dim. As her blurred vision came into focus, she recognized a wide window to her left. The curtains were drawn open enough for her to make out some light seeping in from an otherwise dark sky.

The moon.

It wasn't long before she was soon realizing where she was.

It appeared to be some sort of clinical room...perhaps a hospital bed supporting her weak frame.

Why was she here?

The pieces she tried to sew together were random and unfocused.

A building falling apart...Jets swooping down from the clouds...Gun fire.

She winced when she remembered that she had been shot.

She peered down at her chest, trying to tilt her head down for a better view. Though she could not see it, she felt bandages. The bullet had hit just below her collar bone. The fact that she was alive suggested there had been no damage to vital organs.

She could breathe ok and she could move her toes. She must have been there due to sheer exhaustion and loss of blood.

She remembered being taken aboard an ocean liner.

And a person was there with her. She had barely been awake. But someone had definitely been by her side. She knew their presence like the back of her hand, but she couldn't place who it had been. Had they said anything to her? Or had they simply been there while she slept?

She felt so tired, but she was unable to calm her nerves.

What was she to do once she left this hospital? Where was she to go? Was everything over now? Confusion enveloped her...

She let her head rest again on the pillow. Her whole body felt heavy; like dead weight. She sighed. She hated the feeling of vulnerability.

It was then that she happened to catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye.

She struggled to turn her head.

There to her right, seated in the shadows with his head down, was Stuart Pot.

As if a huge title wave came crashing down, relief poured over her. Finally, things became clear. He had been there with her the whole time.

She had found him on Plastic Beach, amongst the chaos. She'd been shot, but had risked her life to save him. She nearly went down with Plastic Beach, but he had come back for her.

Russel had pulled them both to safety. Her small water raft had been the only thing able to support them. That was where she passed out.

She could only assume that Russ had flagged down a ship to pick them up as they were adrift at sea.

Murdoc too had been aboard the raft, but had lost his marbles and Russ had knocked him comatose.

She must have been in and out of consciousness herself the entire time.

The liner had delivered them to the nearest harbor where she'd been rushed off for medical attention, she assumed.

And 2D must have accompanied her….

How long had she been asleep, she wondered. How long had he been there with her?

The clear sight of him though in the calm room finally allowed her to believe she was safe. In the presence of a friend she had desperately wanted to see, she couldn't help but wish for some sort of communication. She hadn't conversed with him in 4 and a half bloody years. Where should she begin?

It was probably for the best that when she tried to speak, her voice did not emerge from her throat. The exhaustion had temporarily overridden most of her bodily functions.

She instead put all her strength into lifting her right arm, battered and bruised, towards him. When her knuckles rested alongside his forehead, he peered up from where he had been resting on his hands.

She could see he hadn't shaved in a couple days. He looked tired and beaten up. But as soon as he saw her lengthy arm stretched out to him, he smiled.

The air between them was quiet for a moment, and then…

"G'mornin."

She tried to speak. "It's still night." Her voice was so spaced out and hoarse that she barely sounded like herself.

He didn't seem phased by it. "Well, it's mornin' somewhere."

His reasoning, however peculiar, was correct.

She didn't try to speak again. She just lay there smiling. She was so happy to see him; so relieved to be beside a familiar form.

And after everything he'd been through as well, he could only feel the same.

She recoiled her arm as he sat with his legs apart, hands dangling off his knees.

There was a sense of concern she read in him. A sense of prolonged effort.

She studied his face; still the same as she remembered it, with slight aged differences. He somehow looked wiser, astoundingly. This gave her an urge to chuckle to herself, but she made no sound as her smile widened.

2D tried not to stare, but it was hard. He'd waited so long to see her again that he felt if he looked away for even a second, she would vanish.

Although she was beaten up rather badly, fatigued and black-and-blue, he'd never seen a more beautiful person in his life.

The pang of having endured everything for so long without her suddenly hit him like a freight train.

He remembered the last time he saw her…while her windmill lifted off the ground. She had looked back one last time and tossed him a wide and guiltless grin.

He remembered realizing at that very moment that she meant a lot to him. She was a part of his family. And as she drifted off into the sky, he swore that the next time he saw her, he would tell her how important she was to him.

He blinked and left his thoughts. His eyes had veered away from her. He looked back quickly to make sure she was still there. She was.

She had closed her eyes to rest again.

He observed her features carefully, as if trying to memorize them.

The bruised right eye didn't detour him from witnessing not the teenaged girl he'd known in the past, but instead a young woman.

She had grown up.

And the more he stared at her, the more engulfed in her image he became.

To him, she was chaste and lovely; a creature he shouldn't be worthy of associating with.

He was dim-witted and hallow-eyed, while she was gifted and striking.

Why she had been so fond of him in the past, he would never understand.

But then he realized, what was he thinking? This was _Noodle_! This wasn't just some bird that would enter and exit his life in a fowl swoop. Noodle had always been there, and probably always would be… to some extent.

He had mistakenly thought of her completely different than what she was. And for this reason, he astonished himself.

As he had conjured before, they were family. And it was because of this that he felt the unprecedented need to stay by her side. He'd made the mistake of leaving her once. He would never make that mistake again.

He leaned forward and rested his arm on the side of her bed. Her resting face made him feel secure.

"I'm not goin' anywhere, blud. I'll be right 'ere…."

He hesitantly rested his hand over hers. Before he could withdraw, she slowly turned her hand over and cupped his palm lightly.

He looked up at her; she still had her eyes closed.

There was some sort of silent communication between them.

He wasn't going to leave her, she understood that. He'd be there with her from then on.

She wouldn't be alone, and that gave her a surge of happiness she hadn't experienced in years.

x


	5. 05

-05-

[Phase 3]

He swore he saw her smiling. But the next minute her small shoulders began trembling under the weight of pinned up stress and suffering. Strange how such a normal conversation could bring out so much emotion.

2D could barely grasp the sight of her, the strongest person he knew, breaking down in front of him.

It was the first time he had seen it. Those tears…Her tears.

She didn't try to conceal them. She let the drops of scorn freely roll down her cheeks and chin as if they were the first rain after a century-long drought. She hated it. She felt so childish and weak. She had never let anyone see her cry before. But the more she released, the more liberated she felt.

Her hands shook and clenched the crisp hospital sheets in her lap, twisting and gripping the material until it was wrinkled and warm in her palms. The tears fell from her chin onto the skin of her wrists. She thought that perhaps her hands would dismember themselves from the vicious quaking…until Stuart's hands lay down on top of them.

She held her head down, avoiding direct eye contact with the friend she had for so long lived without.

He applied gentle pressure on her hands with his own, offering the only support he could.

Although she was flushed with embarrassment, her vulnerable sobbing was beautiful to 2D. She cried with such passion….He had forgotten what true passion really was. He had no idea what she had been through; what she had seen, or how long she had gone without letting out her anguish, but he considered all that he himself had been through and somehow understood her travail.

Noodle very cautiously leaned forward and rested her forehead against his chest. She continued to weep, now in the confines of his person.

2D could feel his shirt dampen. He soon rested his chin atop her head, securing her dome in place. Her shuddering dulled and then revamped several times over. He began to wonder how much more of this he could take before tears would prick his own hallow eyes. He shut them and took a moment to feel her warm hands underneath his. He let his fingers spread open around them. She felt his gesture and wove her own fingers through his, squeezing them together as tightly as she could. Their touch of hands was so simple and yet overwhelming at once. It made her heart pound.

Even if she couldn't stop crying, the reason for her sobs shifted. Surpassing her anguish, she cried in happiness to render that she had finally made it out of the darkness.

At that moment she couldn't imagine sharing this sanctified act of relief with anyone else but him.

x


	6. 06

**A/N: Sorry for missing last week's update, guys! Life's been holding me hostage. But I'm back this week with two chapters for you. I'll be posting 06 now, and 07 later today. I want to send a shout out to all of the reviewers who have been so amazing with their encouragment throughout the past few weeks. Thank you all so much. Finally releasing these drafts has been an adventure for me. I enjoy looking back at what I wrote and stirring up vintage OTP feels. I hope everyone's enjoying!**

**Happy reading ~**

* * *

><p>-06-<p>

[Phase 3]

She turned over and looked at him. It was distant and cold until his mouth curved into a small grin. "'ello mate."

She couldn't help feel so overwhelmingly good inside, seated beside him in the cab.

There'd been so many times when the taxi had taken her away. She watched Stu disappear in the rear view mirror, until there was no sight of him.

But this time, he was there. And he would remain there. She somehow knew that.

She pressed her lips together, noticing how dry they were. "Where are we going?"

2D glanced out the window, clasping his hands together. "Where ever yeh want to be."

Noodle breathed outward and trailed her eyes over to his lap where his hands were nestled.

Where did she want to be? It wasn't even a question... but she was unsure if mentioning would be a smart idea.

A piece of hair fell in front of her eyes and she pushed it back behind her ear so that both her eyes were visible again. She leaned back against the leather seat for support, feeling her heart beat in soft rhythm.

"Where you are."

2D was taken back and turned to face her.

Noodle wanted to look away, but she forced the courage to look him in the eye. The bruise around her right eye had faded, but was still apparent.

"I want to be where you are." She affirmed.

2D swallowed quietly, wondering what the implication behind her words was. A sober expression came over his face as he cautiously lifted a hand and placed it on her right cheek. He looked at her for awhile, taking in her image, before parting his lips to speak. "I'm right 'ere."

Noodle glanced down, smiling gingerly before looking back up, "Then this is fine, here."

2D felt surprised by her, and a little insecure. But when she leaned her soft cheek into the palm of his hand, closing her eyes to feel the touch and reassurance of it, he felt his heart thump and his nerves petal away.

She hesitantly unbuckled her seatbelt and pushed herself towards him. He blinked and pulled his hand away as she brought her legs up onto the seat and curled up against him.

He was still for a few minutes before slowly relaxing his body and placing an arm around her shoulder.

x


	7. 07

**A/N: As promised, here's my second update of the week. This draft was originally intended to be the final chapter of _Salt Skin_. A casual warning that this has mild nsfw content, so if you're not comfortable with anything suggestive, save yourself the trouble of reading any further. I'd like to make a quick note also regarding the quality of this draft: Don't be alarmed by all the ellipsis and excessive explanatory paragraphs. I wrote this little gem back in 2011, which was when I used an earlier style of writing that I like to cringe at today. I can't count the number of times I've gone back and tweaked this in the past..Nor can I tell what exactly I tweaked re-reading it now (...It's always been the literal example of a rough draft). But it has some endearing content that I can't resist sharing. This will be my second to last draft...I have one more that I'll post as a bonus next week. Again, thank you all so much for your loyalty to my work. With news spreading about Gorillaz return with Phase 4, I'm hoping that maybe I'll have fresh ideas for stories. You never know, right?**

**For now, enjoy reading!**

* * *

><p>-07-<p>

[Phase 3]

She sat down on the edge of the bed. It was 3:37 a.m...

She remembered through the haze of her memories how many 3 a.m.'s she had spent with him in the past. All the horror movies, all the song writing, all the late night junk food, and all the many times she had fallen asleep with him next to her.

He had always given her a comfort she couldn't find in anyone else. He was her wonderwall, and if she had ever been scared or upset, bad mood or good mood, he had always said the right thing or made the right action to make her feel at ease with herself and the world again.

He had told her..."Come stay with me, then. In Essex. I've got a flat in the city and you can have the guest room. I'll...I'll take care'a yeh. Til yeh know what yeh want to do. Whu'do yeh think?"

She had nowhere else to go. Russ was getting used to his normal body mass again in physical therapy in the States and Murdoc had been taken to a rehab in the tropics.

She had no way of supporting herself. The money generated from the Plastic Beach Album had been sent to a vault in London. 2D had access to it, but she preferred not to ask for hand-outs.

She had no family, other than the distant professor in Japan whom she didn't feel close enough with to request a place to stay. There was also the risk of revealing herself to the Japanese government and she didn't want to put the professor or herself in danger.

The only true family she'd ever had was Gorillaz. And now the only remaining member of that family was offering her a place to stay.

She accepted on the grounds that she wouldn't become an intrusion on his life.

2D had been stuck on Plastic Beach for well over a year. He had no such life to be intruded on. Now that a record had been made, the funds would be enough for him to live off of without having to work. After staying in a rehabilitation center for a few weeks and then going on a couple talk shows about the incidents that occurred during the final days of Plastic Beach and Noodle's return to Gorillaz, she found both herself and 2D catching a flight to England.

So there they were.

Noodle left the guest room of 2D's apartment, unable to sleep.

She entered his room and sat at his bedside. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps because the wind outside was howling, the rain was pouring down, and she was waiting for that first roll of thunder to initiate the fear she still possessed in storms.

She felt his body shift. He was awake.

Silence flooded the room and monitored breathing commenced between them.

Without even needing an explanation... "It's ok."

Noodle turned to try and see him through the dark.

"It's ok. I'm right 'ere."

He knew.

Noodle felt something inside her ignite. Something similar to the way she felt during the collapse of Plastic Beach. The Island crumbling around them, the water rising, huddled between his limbs. Yes that feeling, there it was; the feeling that had kept her going all those years.

"Can you see me?" She asked him quietly, bringing her knees up to her chin.

"I can always see yeh."

Silence enveloped them again for a moment. Then she felt the blankets lift.

"Yeh welcome to sleep here if yeh like. I can take the sofa."

She looked across the room at the love-seat sitting against the far wall of the bedroom. She made no response as she crawled into the covers opened for her. As she sunk into the mattress, 2D swiftly started to get up. Noodle frowned solemnly, pressing her lips together. Before she let herself watch him leave, she made an attempt to catch his wrist. Nearly missing, her fingertips captured a patch of his skin.

He turned and looked down at her quietly. She couldn't see his face, but thought process was certainly in effect.

A few moments more and he settled back into the bed alongside her. Propped up on his elbows, he watched her cautiously. She was on the pillow next to his.

They had slept alongside each other countless times before. On 17 hour flights, on long car rides, tour buses across countries, couches, hotel lobbies...and many, many tile floors. But they had never thought of nor felt the need to share an actual bed. There had never been a strangeness about it, it just hadn't been necessary. Perhaps they had simply known that there was a line that wasn't to be crossed; A boundary that couldn't be abridged. Whatever their reasons had been in the past, the barrier that had been put up between them had suddenly been shattered by the simple act of lying down next to each other.

2D finally lowered himself onto the mattress, staring over at her. She was facing him, but he couldn't tell if she was looking back at him or not.

There was a momentary feeling of wrong. He had known her since she was a kid. And now they were entering foreign territory.

What calmed him was the fact that she and him were truly not that far apart in age now. What 23 was to 11 certainly wasn't what 32 was to 20. He wasn't old enough to be her father, at least. They had shared nearly everything together. They had been best friends and comrades. Through every chaos, they had seen each other through. And now they both finally seemed to have grown up from their former selves.

What lay before him was neither a little girl, nor a teenager...but a young woman who accepted him the way no one else ever had. The person he had wanted to see and talk with. The person he had simply wanted to sit beside for so long. There she was, next to him.

There didn't seem to be any real boundaries anymore. Just one, which was the air they breathed between them.

His hallow eyes began to adjust in the dark. Her outline became clearer.

She was awake, but her eyes were looking down, nearly closed. It was then that he saw the shimmer of wet on her upright cheek.

In reaction, he reached over and laid the palm of his hand there.

Noodle peered over at him. Her face was warm and damp. His thumb brushed across her cheek, wiping away tears.

Salt skin.

He unnervingly gazed over at her.

She didn't move. How could she? He was right there. She felt her heart begin to thump loudly in her chest.

2D's mind hazed over. It seemed as if they were involuntarily moving closer…but he couldn't differentiate or control it.

Noodle felt herself quiver, losing grip of the surrounding world.

Slowly, carefully inching their way nearer and nearer until their lips were just centimeters apart.

There was slight hesitation. Slight thought of backing down.

Noodle felt 2D's breath on her mouth.

What was happening?

One last sharp intake of air and their lips met.

It was warm. And soft. Possibly the most delicate touch of lips either of them could initiate. It was an action similar to tip-toeing on hard wood floor, trying hard and putting struggled effort into barely brushing the ground with ones feet.

They lightly held their lips together for a moment. 2D could feel Noodle shake a bit.

When they at last pulled apart, their lips clinging together and then slowly releasing, 2D came to his senses and quickly sat up.

"Oh my god, shit, what 'ave I-…ahh I…Oh geez, I…I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

Noodle sat up now too. She could feel herself having to find strength she didn't feel she had.

She could fight zombies, sling around swords and guns, endure years in hell, perform in front of millions of people, shoot down pirate jets in flight, and attack weapon-enhanced cyborgs, but this was something she had to build up courage for.

"I should'a gone to the sofa, I'm such an idiot, I'm so sorry Noods, I-"

She lunged forward without a second thought, pressing her lips firmly against his to muffle his panic.

This time her kiss was stronger; more endeavored with intent.

2D froze.

There were feelings suddenly that had never been there before. Or perhaps had been there, but had lain dormant until that instant.

At first he didn't know what to do, whether to pull away or to let this continue. It wasn't long before he couldn't control himself any longer. Her lips felt so good and the blood-pumping organ in his chest was wavering out of control. He closed his eyes and kissed her back, placing his hands on her wrists which still held his face.

He pushed in closer, his lips slowly beginning to devour hers, encouraging her to do the same. Every second that passed, more passion ensued. Noodle felt her face flush red as his tongue slid across hers.

What was this? This was madness! Her band mate…her best friend…this was him on the other end of that kiss.

Noodle reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him against her in an embrace. She loved this…she loved this! She had missed him so much. And now he was right there, passionately engulfing her, kissing her as if he had been waiting for her, for this moment.

She could feel both their hearts erupting beneath their chests. The room was spinning.

2D laid his hands on her shoulders, running them up her neck and through her messy hair. He then reached under her arms and held her.

The emotions surging through him were completely new. It was brilliant. The way he shivered every time she tightened her arms around him, the way her frame felt against his.

His hands wandered down to the edge of her tank top and then slid upwards and brushed her skin. He was about to lift the shirt off when he stopped himself. Despite the fact that the barrier had obviously been lifted between them, it didn't stop 2D from knowing certain limits. This was Noodle…This was, possibly, the most important person to him. He wasn't about to make some sort of unforgivable mistake. He may have been a dimwit, but he wasn't stupid.

Their mouths released one another and Noodle peered up at him.

2D breathed in and out, looking straight at her. His hands were lying in her lap, atop hers.

The expression he saw on her face was different than what he was used to seeing. She was saying something without speaking. And although he thought he could understand it, he had never felt so confused.

It was then that silence was met with the soft sound of rustling fabric, as Noodle lifted her shirt up and pulled it over her head, revealing her bare chest.

2D's breath caught in his throat as the tank top was dropped to the side.

Her breasts were small and perky and her eyes were now hidden behind her dark fringe.

2D felt completely irresolute now. She was so young… To touch her, to be near her in such a way. He wanted nothing more than to protect her from it. From that world that adults shrivel away in.

He reached up and pushed some hair out of her eyes so that they were visible to him again. He could see her bruise on the right side. She was looking through it at him. He cupped her face with his hands and rubbed her battered cheek.

She parted her lips to speak, but no words came out. She wanted to say so many things, but there were possibly no words to express what she wanted spoken.

She could tell he was starting to draw a line. He wasn't going to touch her. For the first time in her life, she wanted something more than anything. She wanted what 2D feared…But there was no reason to fear it. Not anymore; not now.

Noodle knew that if she didn't take charge, there would never be another chance to do so.

To make up for her lack of verbal context, she reached for his hands, which were still cupping her face.

2D glanced into her eyes, seemingly lost.

She then led his hands down her neck, across her shoulder blades, and placed them over her breasts.

He was now quivering, as if he were touching something breakable; something he shouldn't.

She held her gaze up at him. His touch felt so good. She wanted more of it…

Noodle was caught off guard when he went in towards her mouth again with his own.

Once more, they began to kiss as his fingers wandered away from her bosom, across her belly button, around her spry hips, and up her spine to the neck line.

He pulled her closer than before, to feel her skin against his.

Noodle felt her cheeks burning red. To be touched like this by him was thrilling. And the way her small bust felt pressed up against his chest made her feel safe. In fact, now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember a time where she had felt safer than this.

After a few moments of exploring her bare skin and kissing her neck gently, he leaned her back and laid her down delicately on the sheets beneath him.

He stared down at her.

She was beaming up at him, as if the glow she had been missing since her youth had finally resurfaced.

2D had a faint memory then of Noodle when she was younger, staring out at a vast skyline, where the setting sun illuminated a desert horizon. He had walked out to watch the sunset with her and a few others during their NA tour in 2005. The bus was nearby. He had peered down just in time to see her eyes glancing up at him. She had this look on her face… It was… what was it? He believed it was happiness. It was the first time he had seen her that at peace with the world.

And right there, beneath him, he saw that face again after so many years.

He realized then what he had known for so long… Perhaps all along.

Noodle reached up and put her hands behind his neck, trying to pull him down to her. However, he resisted and sat further back.

She sat up and crossed her arms over her chest to cover herself.

2D sat on the edge of the bed now; his hallow eyes staring into the surrounding darkness. Before long, he stood up and walked across the room.

A burst of lightening lit up their surroundings suddenly, but the thunder was barley perceptible.

"…" Noodle broke through the silent air with a hesitant breath. She abruptly felt insecure…perhaps this was all some sort of mistake?…Or a misunderstanding? She began to feel foolish.

He returned to the bedside a moment later and outstretched his arms toward her. She grew bemused.

It was then that she felt him drape a blanket across her shoulders to conceal her bare upper body. He left one of his hands resting on her arm.

Through the darkness, she saw his face. A sober expression was there, one she had never quite seen on him before.

His hand moved from her arm to her right cheek. She could feel the tender skin of her bruises beneath his fingertips. His touch was light and delicate.

Noodle found her voice again, feeling apprehensive. "2D…-"

He drew close to her. She said nothing more.

When they were almost so close that they could have touched noses, he inadvertently put his lanky arms around her, wrapping her up and holding her there against him. One hand lay on the back of her head, pressing her face into his shoulder. The other was wrapped around her back, keeping her in a sheltered position.

He could feel her heart pounding. And he came to realize that his too was doing the same.

He had been with so many other women… He had experienced the things in life expected of a 32 year old man. He had lived and grown from those experiences, and had found himself amongst them.

But despite having experienced so much….. Despite having lived through times of love and pain, torn apart numerous times and put back together again… All of it could have never compared to the way the person with him now made him feel.

Everything else mattered so little. And all he had worked, suffered, and subsisted for up until that very moment seemed to have all been for the girl that arrived in that FedEx crate. Even if it was something he had not intended. Even if, in his wildest dreams, he wouldn't have been able to predict it. One way or another, it turned out this way.

The girl who had seen him when no one else had; who had relied on him when no one else would. Who had believed in him, understood him, and grew as a person with him, when all the world seemed distant and cruel.

There had been Noodle: The visionary, the spirit; the light that elucidated the darkness that was Gorillaz. The one he had depended on when all else seemed hopeless. The one that took his hand when everything felt empty and cold.

The years spent without her were dismal and blank. The uncertainty of her survival, of her remaining life, had sent him into pain killer and alcohol binges. The feeling of helplessness, of grief…..the constant image of the flame-engulfed windmill and the feeling of his heart sinking in his chest as he watched it descend from the sky.

From the panic, to the realization that she was gone; An innocence lost to the world of unbridled media and greed, to a society deprived of morals and truth. And the unending turmoil that haunted him for the years after; The sheer truth that he could have put a stop to things if only he had known…Known of Murdoc's selfishness, or known of the demise ahead of El Manana.

Now the evidence of Murdoc's arrogance was scarred across Noodle's face. And every time he saw those wounds, his gut churned with anger and frustration, and the unvarying self-inflicted hate he possessed for himself having not been able to save her.

He felt himself losing grip; the thoughts racing through his head building up. He pulled back from her enough to rest his forehead down on her shoulder, his eyes tightly closed. The headache of unending regret loomed in on his cluttered mind.

Noodle felt his body quiver. She lifted her hands and placed them on both sides of his head, lifting him so that their eyes were level.

He peered over at her, lost in his own cloud of anguish.

As if knowing what flooded his mind, she pushed her forehead up against his in an attempt to share his suffering.

They stayed like that for some time; breathing in, letting composure fall over them again.

"Noods…"

"…Yeah?"

The singer fell short of his voice for a second, not able to think of anything to say. Only one thing stood out in his mind. "…You're-…my medicine. When you're close to me."

Noodle lifted her eyes, recognizing the spoken lyrics. Before she could let out another breath he spoke again, almost inaudible:

"Them words weren't written for Plastic Beach."

Noodle listened carefully.

"They were written…a long time ago...for you."

When he looked into her eyes, he realized that she probably already knew where _On Melancholy Hill_ had originated from. The ripped out pages in 2D's old scribbled lyric book would tell that story.

He reached up and tightened the blanket around her shoulders, keeping his eyes averted from hers.

His mind and his heart were screaming two different things:

His mind reminded him of the Noodle from the past; the Noodle who had been his band mate and friend. He told himself that if he cared for her as much as he knew he did, then he would preserve her. To not taint her, to not bring her further confusion or grief, for that was the last thing he ever wanted.

His heart, however, spoke differently. He couldn't ignore or neglect the way he felt… or the way she possibly felt, the truth behind which he had hid for years. The fearful and yet necessary revelation he so needed to reach in order to be able to function.

Now that everything was factoring in at once, 2D ceased the confrontation between mind and heart and took a look at the Noodle in front of him.

The ever-growing silence was beginning to take toll on her. Feeling unveiled and on-edge, she clung to the blanket around her for support.

When she still didn't feel any comfort come to her, she tightly shut her eyes and leaned into him heavily, hiding her face in his chest. She was beginning to feel embarrassed and unsure of herself.

2D knew somehow within that fleeting moment that revelation had to come _now_. Or else let the seconds slip into minutes and then the entire chance be lost. Noodle would get up and leave the room and they would continue moving ahead…together, but separate; in a band that may or may not reunite, in a world that may or may not exist the next day. And yes, eventually she would go on with her life. And maybe they would not see each other again for a long time…until the band does some sort of psychotic reunion tour and they only call each other by unfamiliar stage names…

Noodle sensed that the moment was passing by as well and began to anticipate the worst. Not being one to accept defeat, she deemed to initiate the rejection and closure rather than hear it from him. Perhaps they were, in all actuality, just friends. Perhaps all of this was a very large and fangled mistake she had made in order to quell her insecurities. Perhaps she should have never come to his room? Perhaps… she should have never come to him at all?

Had she somehow managed to disregard all margins from the start? What part of her made her think that this was right? Had she not seen the immoral in bonding with a man so much older than her?

Feeling more and more like an idiot, she peeled herself away from him and began inching backwards off the bed.

2D felt the immediate cold air hit his bare chest where she had been nestled.

Noodle grabbed her shirt and slid it on promptly, reassembling the blanket around her shoulders afterward. She was now getting off the bed, the floor creaking, and a sensation like ice hitting her toes. She kept her eyes averted from him, standing in the dark.

2D knew this was it. His only chance was slipping away. If he let her go now, they would never come to terms with this thing keeping them wondering, keeping them waiting. Keeping their bond the way it had been all those years… growing and growing, until it begs to burst at the seams.

How could he let her leave when she had just re-entered his life? Could he remember a time where he had been happier than the moment that mask came off to reveal her face? Noodle…the real Noodle. Flesh and blood.

Could he imagine a life without her in it again? After all he had endured, after waiting so long to see her again?

He couldn't. He couldn't imagine it at all.

Noodle turned away from him at that moment, heading for the doorway back to the guest room.

He was losing her…

No, he didn't want that! He didn't!

Without thinking, he scrambled off the bed and tumbled to the floor, his feet having gotten tousled in the sheets. This didn't stop him. He lunged forward and grabbed Noodle's wrist from his entanglement on the ground.

She didn't say anything, nor did she question his spastic actions. She instead stood very still, keeping her back to him.

2D breathed in and out, catching his breath. He kept his eyes on her, squeezing her wrist firmly.

He searched for a word…any word at all!

Noodle waited.

Lightening lit up the room, followed seconds later by thunder.

He felt her tense up.

It was in that moment when the lightening lit up the room, creating shadows around them, that the spark finally caught blaze. She and him. What they were to each other, what they had always been to each other.

She was as much his person as he was hers. Why had it taken so long to realize that?

Noodle's body was knotted with nerves and fatigue. She was tired; tired of pretending, tired of acting brave, tired of searching. Tired of facing the world as if it were one big obstacle after another, with no goal to reach at the end.

2D still struggled to find his voice. He occasionally made sharp intakes of air, as if attempting to speak, but each time he cut himself off.

What was he trying to say?

He held his breath.

A clash of thunder and lightning ignited. Noodle gave up; unable to pretend any longer. She spun around and plummeted into his arms, knocking him over.

He immediately grabbed her and held on as she dug into him.

They sat on the floor in a pile, 2D's arms tightly shielding her. He bit his lip and shut his eyes. Noodle was there. He could feel her heart pounding. He let everything else around them vanish, and found his voice.

"I love you."

Noodle said nothing. Instead she kneaded her fingertips into his back. She understood by the stiffness in his voice that he didn't just mean he loved her as he had when she was a kid.

She felt herself being invaded by an intense emotion; one she had tried to subdue throughout her adolescence. That emotion she got when she was close to him, when their eyes met…or when they accidentally brushed skin.

Her heart grew heavy, seeming to thump more loudly than usual in her chest.

The sensation of fluttering lightly crawled up from the pit of her stomach up her rib cage like a xylophone.

She found it difficult to breathe, as if it would disrupt the emotions surging through her if she were to let air escape her lungs.

"I love you…!" 2D said again, this time more assertively. His embrace was as firm as he could get it.

Thunder rumbled.

"An' I'm not lettin' yeh go, you're…you're my-…I-…I can't do this anymore. Not without yeh. 'Cause…you're my best mate. Yeh know? You're …my only-…You're-.."

"Stuart." Noodle interrupted.

He pulled back. She could tell he was besieged for words.

"Usoda." (Translation: "Shut Up.") She was smiling.

Thunder rolled softly in the background. He said nothing else, leaning forward and resting his head against her chest.

There was a wave that fell over them both. Some sort of disclosure.

It was silent, but it was also loud. The ringing in their ears. Echoing.

What now? What now that they were finally on the same page?

She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, letting herself accept that he was truly there.

He lifted his head to gaze up at her from where he crouched.

Oh, that's right. There was nothing left now, except _this_.

He smiled at her.

She smiled back.

No more salt skin.

x


	8. 08 (Extra)

**A/N: At long last, we come to my final draft. This is actually a combination of two drafts that I had sitting around. I could have gotten away with completing this series with the previous chapter, but I wanted to add one more in for fun. As some of you have already heard me say, thank you so much for all of your support and kind reviews. It means the world to me. I've really enjoyed posting these drafts for all of you. It's been a great experience from beginning to end. I hope to return to the Gorillaz fandom eventually with more writing. Until then, keep on being the awesome people that you are. **

**Enjoy reading!**

* * *

><p>-08 (Extra) -<p>

[Phase 3]

She came out of the hotel shower wrapped in a towel. Her hair was still dripping wet and her skin glistened with mist from the washroom.

2D tried to look up at her, but the overwhelming pang of regretful memories flooding his mind was enough to keep his head lowered as she walked gently towards his hunched-over form.

Before long he was staring at her feet, which were now visible below him.

She stood still in front of him, but he could hear her breathing in and out: It was a safe reminder that there truly was someone in the room with him and he wasn't lost in a haze of overdose or liquor.

Without hesitation or thought, he leaned his head forward against her stomach, still drooped downward, his gaze at her polished feet.

She and him both remained quiet.

He closed his eyes and lifted his arms, wrapping them around her hips. He wasn't sure why; he wanted to feel closer to her. The feeling of her pressed against his forehead cooled his throbbing dome and gave him stability.

_Please make this pain go away. Please stay right here with me. Please fix me._ This was what he yearned to say as he held her firmly.

Unaware of his thoughts, Noodle's pleas were of the same nature.

_Please fix me._

_Please fix everything._

_Please don't leave me._

_Stay._

There was nothing more she wanted. All she could ever need was sitting in front of her, begging for reassurance.

Maybe they could fix each other.

The medicine she was for him could be the medicine he was for her. And she was dying to heal by his hands.

Momentary disregard for the spinning earth around them led the towel around Noodle's slim body to slide off to the floor and suddenly 2D was draping his arms around her nude figure.

He lifted his head slowly, biting his lip. Could this happen? _Should_ this happen?

As he sat up straight now, searching his mind for answers, Noodle stepped forward and moved between his knees, carefully pushing him backward onto the bed, laying her body upon his.

She stared down at him. She was completely flushed red, but her focus didn't break. She moved her face towards his before 2D placed his hands on her shoulders to slow her down.

"…I'm not good enough for yeh…I'm not."

Noodle gazed into him.

"I'm this broken thing tha' can't be fixed. I am the way I am…I can't be better…I can't get better…I'm jus'…_this_. I'm not worthy of yeh…I never was."

The guitarist tilted her head a bit, watching his face bend in painful expression, rejecting himself. She reached up and brushed some azul bangs from his face, contemplating the man she had so boldly laid down upon. How little he realized or knew was surprising.

She leaned in and met his lips; the wonderful familiarity of his warm breath and the feel of his hands tracing her skin.

She released him and he solemnly stared up at her. She studied him a moment longer and then laid her head down on his chest. He breathed in and out before she smiled, "Stuart…There is no unmade decision or imperceptible choice. You are the individual that I find myself admiring most on this otherwise dead planet. We both have scars that can't be erased, but… you are my best friend…and maybe together we can be better. Perhaps I feel that I'm unfixable as well and perhaps I don't feel that I am worthy of your intimate attention either. But together, we can be better."

2D hoisted himself up now. As he did so, Noodle reached to cover her chest with her arms, sitting in front of him.

He looked down at the sheets, running his hand over them to straighten out the wrinkles. "…We can be broken together?"

"No. Together we can repair what is broken."

2D grinned to himself.

"If I qualify, of course." Noodle squeezed her own shoulders.

He glanced up at her for a moment, then reached for her arms and drew her close.

They leaned back down on the bed again, into the shadows away from the washroom's glaring light.

"Yeh my person…You're the only one that qualifies."

* * *

><p>2D watched her, breathing in and out heavily.<p>

Could this have actually happened? Was that person really her?

He closed his eyes, feeling perspiration roll down his brow. A pang of guilt; a pang of passion. When he re-opened his hallow eyes, he saw a beautiful person who had willingly chosen this for herself; who had willingly chosen him.

And so this event had transpired.

Yes, it was different now. _She_ was different now. She was mature and wise, proper and keen. An adult. She and him were adults. Yes, this was true.

But finally catching his breath, he couldn't help but hate himself more and more. As the rush of blood passed, as she lay there across from him tired and sweaty, he began to question himself: How could he do this?… How could he do this to her? How could he mutilate this remarkable person's chastity? How could he have taken away everything she stood for and everything she had safely protected all those years?

Such a simple act.

He couldn't look at her. Instead he averted his eyes, ashamed.

Noodle's hand, lying on the sheets between them, began to slide across the fabric slowly. It moved with a bit of grace towards him, until it found his cheek and stroked it carefully.

She whispered, "Please don't look that way."

He still kept his eyes lowered.

"Stuart."

He bit his lip and spoke in a raspy voice. "I love you. I never wan' to hurt you. I never wan' to-…"

She moved closer and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her bare chest against his, resting her right cheek on his skin and closing her eyes.

"I'm in love with you." He breathed into her hair. "I'm in love with my best friend."

x


End file.
